Pivotal mounting for automatic door



March 19, 1968 G. G. INGHAM PIVOTAL MOUNTING FOR AUTOMATIC DOOR FiledOct. 51, 1966 INVENTOR. Gary G. Ingham A TTORNEY United States PatentPIVOTAL MOUNTING FOR AUTOMATIC DOOR Gary G. Ingham, Oklahoma City, Okla,assignor to Roto- Swing Door Co., Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla., acorporation of Oklahoma Filed Oct. 31, 1966, Ser. No. 590,608 4 Claims.(Cl. 49-381) This invention relates to improvements in automatic dooroperators and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to apivotal mounting for an automatic door.

There are many types of hinged or pivotal doors in use today adapted toopen automatically upon the approach of a person desiring to passthereth-rough. The door operator is usually disposed either above thedoor or below the door and in either case the shaft of the door operatorgenerally extends through the door frame and into the door either at thetop or bottom thereof, depending upon the location of the operator, andthe shaft is usually anchored to the door..In the event it becomesnecessary to remove the door operator for any reason, such as repair orreplacement, the door operator shaft is usually disengaged from theconnection with the door by removing the usual cover plate provided foraccess to the connection between the shaft and the door and, of course,the shaft may be disconnected from the door. Since the disconnection ofthe shaft from the door leaves the door otherwise unsupported, the doormust be removed from the doorway during the repair operation, or thelike.

The present invention contemplates a novel means for connecting a dooroperator, a door check device, or the like, with a door whereby theoperator may be removed for repair or replacement without removing thedoor from its operable position in the door opening. The pivot shaft ofthe door operator is of a shorter overall length than that with theusual door operator of today, and a suitable pivot pin is provided inthe top or bottom of the door which may be journaled in the door frame,or in the floor below the door, to provide a substantially permanentpivotal connection or support for the door in the door opening. Theshortened pivot shaft of the door operator is adapted to engage thepivot pin of the door for simultaneous rotation there-between. In theevent the door operator is to be removed for any reason, the shortenedshaft may be readily disengaged from its connection with the pivot pinof the door as the door operator is disengaged and removed from itsposition above or below the door. This may be accomplished withoutdisturbing the support of the door in the door opening and the door mayremain in its usual operable position within the door opening.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a novel pivotalmounting for an automatic door operator whereby the operator may beremoved for repair, or the like, without disturbing the operableposition of the door in the door opening.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel door operatorparticularly designed and constructed for facilitating repair orreplacement of the operator without hindrance to the normal operation ofthe door. It is a further object of this invention to provide a novelpivot mounting for an automatic door, or the like, which is simple andelficient in operation and economical and durable in construction.

Other and further objects and advantageous features of the presentinvention will hereinafter more fully appear in connection with adetailed description of the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of a door and dooroperator having a pivot mounting embodying the invention, with portionsshown in dotted lines for purposes of illustration.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of a portion of a door in a doorframe with a portion cut away to illustrate a pivotal connectionembodying the invention between the door operator and the door.

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character 10 generallyindicates a door operator adapted for disposition within a door frame 12above a pivotal door 14. The door operator 10 may be of any suitabletype, such as a device for opening and closing the door 14, or forchecking the closing speed of the door. Of course, the door operator 10may also be of the type installed in the floor below the door, ifdesired. A suitable pivot pin 16 is provided in the upper edge 18 of thedoor 14 and is secured to or connected with the door 14 whereby rotationof the pin 16 about the longitudinal axis thereof is transmitted to thedoor 14 for opening or closing thereof, and conversely rotation of thedoor 14 is transmitted to the pin 16. As shown in FIGURE 1, a top plate17 may he removably secured to the edge 18 by means of a plurality ofscrews 19, or the like, and the pin 16 may be rigidly secured to theplate 17 in any suitable manner (not shown) whereby the pivot pin 16will be connected with the door 14 in order to transmit rotationthereto. Of course, any suitable connection means may be provided forsecuring the pivot pin 16 to the door 14, and there is no intention tolimit the connection therebetween to the exact structure shown herein.

A- plate 20 is removably secured to the door frame 12 and disposed abovethe upper edge 18 in any suitable manner. The plate 20 is provided withan aperture 22 for receiving a bearing member 24 therein. The pin 16extends through the bearing 24 and may be provided with an enlarged headportion 26 at the upper end thereof which is journ-aled in the bearing24. The head portion 26 maybe retained within the bearing 24 manysuitable manner (not shown) to preclude any accidental disengagement ofthe head therefrom. A slot or keyway 28 is provided in the upper end orface of the head portion 26 for a purpose as will be hereinafter setforth.

The door operator 10 is provided with the usual door operator shaft 30which extends downwardly therefrom as viewed in the drawings. However,the shaft 30 is substantially shorter in overall length than the usualdoor operator shaft, and is provided with a downwardly depending tongueor key member 32 adapted to engage the slot or keyway 28 in the pivotpin 16. The shaft 30 is rotated by the door operator 1G in the usualmanner, as is well known, for transmitting rotation to the pivot pin 16in order to open and/or close the door 14. Of course, in conditionswherein the door operator 10 is inoperative, the door 14 may be openedby manual pressure against one face thereof whereby the rotation of thedoor 14 will be transmitted to the shaft 32 through the engagement withthe pin 16. When the operator 10 is a door check device, the engagementbetween the shaft 30 and pin 16 will function for controlling theclosing speed of the door 14 in the usual manner for this type ofdevice.

When the door operator 10 is to be removed from the normal positionwithin the door frame 12 for any reason, the key 32 may be easilydisengaged from the keyway 28 in order to disengage the shaft 30 fromthe pin 16. It is to be noted that it is preferable to provide a slightclearance between the adjacent ends of the shaft 30 and pin 16 in orderto permit a small amount of play therebetween in order to facilitateremoval of the engagement of the shaft 30 with the pin 16 as the dooroperator 10 is removed. The connection of the pivot pin 16 within thebearing 24 is in no manner disturbed by the removal of the shaft 30 fromengagement with the pin 16. As a result, the door 14 remains supportedwithin the door frame 12 and may function in the normal manner as forthe well known type of pivotal door of the manual operation type. Thus,use of the door may be maintained for normal flow of traffic through thedoor opening during such periods of time as required for repair,replacement, or the like, of the door operator 10.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present inventionprovides a novel pivot connection between a door and a door operator,door check device, or the like, wherein the door operator may be removedfor repair or replacement without a disconnection of the door itselffrom its pivotal installation with the door opening. Thus, the door maybe utilized in the normal manner of doors of the manual operation typeduring the times in which the door operation, door check device, or thelike, is removed from its normal installation. The door is provided witha pivot in journaled within a bearing member provided in the door frame,and the door operator is provided with a relatively short operator shaftadapted to engage the pivot shaft of the door for opening and closingthereof, as is well known in door operator devices. When it is necessaryto remove the door operator for any reason, the operator shaft may bequickly and easily disengaged from the pivot shaft of the door withoutinterrupting or otherwise disturbing the pivotal connection of the pivotshaft in the door frame. The novel pivot connection between the dooroperator and the door is simple and efficient in operation andeconomical and durable in construction.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts asheretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings, itbeing understood that any modification in the precise embodiment of theinvention may be made within the scope of the following claims, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A pivotal connection between a door operator and a door mounted in adoor opening and which comprises shaft means carried by the dooroperator, pivot shaft means carried by the door means for independentlyjournaling the pivot shaft in the door opening for pivotal movement ofthe door therein, and means providing removable driving engagementbetween the door operator shaft means and the pivot shaft means wherebythe door operator may be removed and installed independently from thedoor to permit uninterrupted use of the door.

2. A pivotal connection between a door operator and a door mounted in adoor opening as set forth in claim 1 wherein the door operator shaftmeans is relatively short for facilitating engagement and disengagementthereof from the pivot shaft means.

3. A pivotal connection between a door operator and a door mounted in adoor opening as set forth in claim 1 wherein the means providingremovable engagement between the door operator shaft and pivot shaftcomprises cooperating slot and key means provided on the adjacent endsof the shafts for transmitting rotation therebetween.

4. A pivotal connection between a door operator and a door mounted in adoor opening and which comprises a pivot shaft secured to the door forsimultaneous rotation therebetween, bearing means provided on the dooropening for independently journaling the pivot shaft for rotation withrespect to the door opening, a door operator shaft carried by the dooroperator and rotatable thereby, and means cooperating between the dooroperator shaft and pivot shaft for transmitting rotation therebetweenwhile permitting a disengagement therebetween independent of the pivotalconnection of the pivot shaft and hearing means whereby manual openingand closing of the door is undisturbed in the disengaged position of thepivot shaft and door operator shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,896,032 1/1933 Sherman et al.6410 2,082,455 6/1937 Lasler 1670 XR 2,640,334 6/1953 Spang 64-10 XR3,210,067 10/1965 Ferguson et a1. 49334 XR 3,237,932 3/1966 Catlett49334 XR 3,266,191 8/1966 Dugan 49--504 KENNETH DOWNEY, PrimaryExaminer.

1. A PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN A DOOR OPERATOR AND A DOOR MOUNTED IN ADOOR OPENING AND WHICH COMPRISES SHAFT MEANS CARRIED BY THE DOOROPERATOR, PIVOT SHAFT MEANS CARRIED BY THE DOOR MEANS FOR INDEPENDENTLYJOURNALING THE PIVOT SHAFT IN THE DOOR OPENING FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OFTHE DOOR THEREIN, AND MEANS PROVIDING REMOVABLE DRIVING ENGAGEMENTBETWEEN THE DOOR OPERATOR SHAFT MEANS AND THE PIVOT SHAFT MEANS WHEREBYTHE DOOR OPERATOR MAY BE REMOVED AND INSTALLED INDEPENDENTLY FROM THEDOOR TO PERMIT UNINTERRUPTED USE OF THE DOOR.